Feeding mechanism



' July l0, 1928.

FEEDING MECHANISM,

3 Sheets-Sheet OriginalvFiled July 5l, 1,923

July 1o, 192sb H. F. ALBRIGHT, JR

FEEDING MECHANISM s sheets-skelet 2 Original Filed July 31. 192:5

ctm-

@www July 1o, 192s. 1,676,606

H. F. ALBRIGHT, JRl

FEEDING MECHANISM Original Filed July 31, 19255'A 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 Patented July 19, i928.

,lat-.Ga

Nlitifi'lfitri stares 'Parent ldile-isijet1;

HENRY FLEETWOOD Quartieri-i' r, JR., 0F OAKPARIIL ILiiINoIs, ASSIGNOR'TOWESTERN INCORPORALTED,v OFNNW YORK, N. Y., a CORPORATION OF ELECTRIC COIvlPANY, NEW `YORK.

Application filed July 31, 1923, Serial N'O. 654,961. vv'Relitti/ved March `2O, 1928.

This invention relates to feeding mechanism,V and more'particularly to a mechanism for feeding a strand into a receiver.

In the manufacture Oi" rubber covered wire, where a coie ofwire is coatedwith a rubber Compound which is later to be vulcanil 1Ze`d it is necessary, in the stage before vut,

canization, to preserve the comparatively plastic coating from distortion whichV would deleteriously atl'ectits insulative properties. This may be accon'iplished by coiling the y -coated strand in superimposed layers, each convolution of which fits smoothly against the ,adj acent ones, and surrounding` and sup-` porting it with powdered soapstone to preventdefoi-mation ort the coating and adhesion O15-.adjacent turns. y AnA object of the present invention is to improve and'sim'plity a device for storing a strand.

Another object is to coil a strand in a re-A ceiver by regulating the rotary and lateral movements of a receiver.

' An apparatus made in accordance with they invention may comprisea rotatable storage pan mounted upon a movable carriage which is operated reciprocally at a predetermined speed to allow'strand.y which is fed into the pan ata constant speed, to be coiled therein in regiilarsuperimposed layers.v

These and other features oflthe invention not specifically mentioned will appear from the following description and the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig.' l is a view in sideelevatioii ot amav chine' embodying the invention FigxQzi's; a view in end elevatio-nof the mechanism;

Fig'ffis a 'partial plan view of the mechanismshowififig the pan afndhopper; v

e Fig. 4 Shows an enlarged.partialsection onthe line ot Fig.` 1, and.

F- igx is av raginentary'plan[view of they dri-'vingmeclianism and associated parts.

Referring to the-fdrawings in detail, .a base plate 10, which m-aybeof'cast metal, has pariv allel-ridges11 on'its 'upper surface. running Alongitudinally'thereof to torina track for a carriageyshown: generally at 12, which. moves reciprocally thereonduring tlieo'pe'ration' oi themachine; Aft eitherend of this base platel arefaflixed'-'uprights 14 afndvl respectively, `whilea third upright `18 ycarries a cap'stan 38 which receives the wire 1t from a covering yrEEDING iviEcrIiLiNisr/i.r

machine (not gshown.) and feeds' `it into thef coling machine. A driver-shaft 20 is car ried by bearingsin .upi'ights 16 andw18 and maybe operated by a drivenpulley l212 keyed to this shaftan'diotated by afbelt 24 which may beconnected to anyfsuitable source oft power `-(not shown) .to furnish ap-variable speed `drive therefor@ @n.one.- endf'ot'fthe drive shaft is aiixed a, bevel gea-i226 which',y

acting in conjunction withanother bevel gear ber'fln() in the form oifatruncated cone, which f cooperates with second conical member 42 `by means et a belt t' to: drive this second member7 and the' `speed offthe second by moving-the handle: 46; connected toa meinbergasto that o'f the iirst maybe `varied sliding yoke 48; tov change the position 'of the` .belt 44.' The second conical'meinber has in# tegral :therewith av` bevel gear 5'() which7 coopera-ting' with a -bevelA gea-r .52,idri-v'eslashaft 54 y,supported between` uprights leifand 16. Keyed'to this shattisavwheel "[56, upont the hub of which is aiiixed a=sprocket'wheel158.V

The periphery of the wheel-56 carries a tire y 23, whiclimay be oferub-ber, as does-also-.a Isecond wheel= 60-'integral w=itha-bushing 62' to beable to @rotate independently thereofi the` ends` ofthe lthreaded I'part ofz the bushing 62,.torm a'bearingrtherefoncausingthe carria-ge) to bednoved with) the bushing. f The remainder of ,the'bushing has a'keywayleut@ longitudiiiallyA thereof in which vankcy 25 `is brought out later. p A lpost 84- a'flirfied yte the a dog 86` which itsinto the reversible thread of the bushingand is reversed as it (reaches-V either end of the thread in--afwell-lrnown manner. From theV sprocketS a drive chain: 19. encircles a' second sprocket on. shattftf which is carried by bearings in uprightsl 14 and 16 and has integral with i1 two drive `which rides loosely upon the shattll'so as v secured byal set'sc'rcw 15,and the position i of wheel `60 onthe bushing. may be cl'ianged".v -by means ol kthenset screwrfto regulateits e, mean-crate of rotation, aswill be moreiully-zu bed ot' vthem'achine carries in its upper'end4 l purpose of which of the machine, rests on this table andv isr held in position by a central tubular portion 17 of the pan 8O which lits over ay post 2l integral with the platform 76. y

Extending from the rear of the carriage is an arm 90 which Carries a hopper 92 in which powdered soapstone may be placed and in which a brush 94 is'rotatably mount# led over a slot96 in the bottom of the hopper. vA friction drive wheel 98.is rotatably mountl, ed on the lower end of an arm 97, pivote-d lat V93, the'upper end of this arm being held between a screw '89 and a spring 85. A pulley 8l, integral with wheel 98, carries a belt 77 which, operating around idlers 73 and pulley 69, transmits the motion of wheel 98 to the shaft of the brush 94. The idlers 73 are mounted on either side of a pivoted weight v65 which'acts to keep the belt 77 taut at all times.

It will befnoted that the pulley 69 is fixed upon an aiin from post 90, while the hopper is pivotally mounted upon a sleeve 6l which V `lits over a post 57 integral with arm 90.

A pin 5l set in post 57 and riding in a slot 47 Vin the sleeve 6l, serves to limit the rotationrof the sleeve, while a locking pin 4l, being forced inward by spring 37, fits into a Adepression in post 57 when the hopper is in position for operation to lock the sleeve in place. In order to permit the hopper to swing on its pivot, the shaft of the pulley 69 is splined at one end and a projection from 'the brush shaft fits into it as shown at 33,

thus permitting` the separationof these parts when thehopper isk swung away from the .pan and their union when it is swung back.

The operation of the machine is as fol- A'strand ofcoated wire is brought from a coating machine (not shown), is given a fewturns around the capstan 38, and its l end is laidiii the pan 80, the bottom of which l vvis irst covered with powdered soapstone to form a seating for the firstlayer of wire. The carriage l2 should be at either the outer or the `inner limit of its movement `when starting an operation so as to make the lirst laye-r of strand continuous across the bottom of the pan. i The machine is then ready to be operated by starting the mechanismwvhich operates ythe drive wheel 22. Thiscauses the capstan 38 to revolve and feed Awire into the pan and also, acting through the variable speed drive cones 40 and 42 and bevel gears 50 and 52., causes the pan 80 to be' rotated by causing the rotation of the wheel 56. Table 76, resting on. the other wheel 60, causes thi'swheel to rotate also, and with it the bushing 62 which is integral with it. The screw thread in this bushing acting in conjunction with the dog` 86 in the manner pre-` viously described, causes the carriage vto be rolled back and forth on the base l0.

l/Vhccl 56 remains lin the saine position on the shaft 54 at all times, but wheel 60, being integral with the bushing, moves laterally with the carriage, and it will be noted that when the carriage is at the. rightfhand limit of its travel, the whe-el 56 is actingy nearv the periphery of the table, while at the other limit of its travel the'reverse is true. The peripheral speed of wheel`56 is regulated by means' of the variable speed cones 46 and 42 so as to be the saine as the speed of the coated wire as it leaves'the 'capstain and a change of the speed ofthe drive wheel V56 necessarily causes a corresponding change in the rate of rotation of the screw `64 which is integral with driven wheel 60.

T he wheel 60 being driven by the table will be rotated slowly when wheel 56 is near the periphery of the table and the table is beii'igil rotated slowly; and rapidly when it is near the center, since the table is then being swiftly rotated by ywheel 56. The mean rate of rotation Vof wheel 6() may be increased by loosening set screwy l5 and moving the wheel along the bushing toward the periphery of the table and decreased by moving it toward the center. ment is for increasingor decreasing` the lead This adjustf for dilferent sizesy of-strand. The result Ais i clear that when a strand ot wire is feeding into the pan near its periphery, the pan is operating at a proper speed to receive it and is slowly moved laterallyl by the action of the dog 86 in the screw thread 64, vsince` the turns are large here and each one requires a comparatively large amount of strand; while when they strand is feeding into the pan near its center, the pan is.. still ro-` tating at the properspeed to receive it, but

has a faster lateral movement which is neces-A sary since hei'e the turns are small and require a `comparatively small amountl of strand per turn.

When thel carriage reaches either its outer` f or its inner limit, the wheel 98 rides up on one of the rotating driving membersv 70, being held in Contact lrewith by the spring 85, and, acting through the pulley 81 i i and the belt 77, causesthe brush 94 to rotateV yand deposit a quantity of powdered soapstone into the rotating pan, forming a layer of soapstone over each layer of ,wire as it is completed. As soon as the advance of the carriage moves the wheel`98 ofi' the driving member 70, the brush ceasesto'rotate until the advance of the carriage brings the wheel 7 0 into contact with the other driving member, when it is again rotated. The positions of the driving members 70 are adjustable on their shaft, by means of set screws 29,y to permit regulation of the time at which they shall engage and release wheel 98.

This intermittent deposit of soapstone givesa very desirable seating for the wire and allows operation of the device at a high rate of speed.

Other features of the mechanism disclosed herein are disclosed and claimed in the copending applications of C. D. Hart and L. F. Lamplough, Serial Nos. 654,960 and 654,962, filed July 31, 1923, respectively.

That is claimed is:

1. In a machine for storing strand, a platform, a receiver mounted thereon, and means for imparting a combined rotating and lateral motion to said platform to store a strand in the receiver.

2. In a machine for storing strand, means speed, a receiver, means for rotating the receiver around its axis, and means for reciprocating the receiver at a speed to store the strand in the' receiver in regular formation.

4t. In a machine for storing strand, a receiver, and means for rotating the receiver about an axis and simultaneously therewith moving the receiver in a radial direction to store the strand therein.

5. In a machine for storing strand, means for feeding a strand at a predetermined speed, a rotatable platform, a receiver mounted thereon, means for rotating said platform at a speed to receive the strand, and means for moving the platform reciprocally at a speed to store the strand in the receiver in regular formation.

6. In a machine for storing strand, means' for feeding a strand, a rotatable receiver,

means for imparting' a movement thereto along a line at an angle to the axis thereof, and means for changing the speeds of kboth movements of the receiver to store the strand inthe receiver.

7. In a machine for storing strand, means for feeding a strand at a constant speed,fa rotatable receiver, means for rotating the receiver about its axisk and simultaneously therewith moving the receiver in a radial direction, and means for changing the speeds of both movements of the receiver to store the strand therein.

8. In a machine fory storing strand, means for feeding astra-nd at a constant speed, a rotatable receiver, means for imparting a movement thereto alongfa line at anangle to the axis thereof, and means for changing the speeds of both movements of the receiver to store the strand in the receiver.

9. Ina machine for storing strand, a capstan for feeding a strand, a friction driving wheel, means for operating said wheel at a predetermined speed,-a rotatable platform engaging the periphery of said wheel, a wheel frictionally driven by said platform, a screw thread integral with the driven wheel, and a carriage supporting saidplatform and operated reciprocally by the screw thread.

' 10. In a machine for storing strand, means for feeding a strandata predetermined speed, a friction driving wheel, means for operating said wheel at a predetermined speed, a-rollable carriage, a rotatable platform mounted upon said carriage and engaging the periphery'y of said drivin wheel,

a receiver mounted on saidy platform, a driven wheel also 'engaged at its periphery by said platform, a reversible screw thread actuated by said wheel, and means engaging the carriage to cause it to be operated reciprocally by the screw thread to change its rate of rotation and its rate of lateral movement.

In witness whereof, I hereunto subscribe my name this 13th day 'of July A. D., 1923.

HENRY FLEETWOOD ALBRIGHT, Jr.r f 

